Wedding Photographer Castleford | Amanda and Paul

As Castleford wedding photographers, it's fair to say that actually, we very rarely photograph weddings in Castleford, probably because our home town has very few wedding venues, but it was really nice to work locally on this scorcher of a day for Amanda and Paul.

Pontefract Register Office was where we started our coverage of this fabulous wedding, accompanied by Michael and Christine for Super Video Services who were such a pleasure to work with. Another friendly face was Rosalyn's, who conducted the civil ceremony and who welcomed us with a huge smile and a big hug.  As Pontefract wedding photographers, we often work with the area's registrars who are always great and very accommodating.  

All wedding photographers and all couples wish for a dry day but this was especially important because rain would definitely have had a huge impact, as the celebrations were held in the garden of Amanda and Paul's home, with around 160 guests joining them for a religious blessing and an outdoor party, following their low key civil ceremony to which Amanda, Paul, their children, close family and witnesses arrived in casual summer clothes to match the heatwave we were having.  

We caught up with everyone again at the house and set to work photographing Amanda's gorgeous dress and a pair of very eye catching shoes before we made the very short trip downstairs to take photographs of the boys.  

The attention to detail and the amount of work which had gone into decorating not only their garden but into turning their kitchen into a vintage style tearoom was amazing and credit must go to Dulcie Butterfly for doing such a spectacular job.  At every turn there was something else to photograph, including a pork pie cake which we understand was very quickly demolished!  

With the emphasis very much on family and with the couple's children, Samuel and Ruby, playing a huge part, this wedding was a joy and a privilege to be part of.  We know that we were recommended to Amanda and Paul by friends of theirs who we have also worked for and it was lovely to see several familiar faces among the guests who were greeted on arrival with a Limoncello toast.  

After the blessing, everyone gathered for a big group photo and it's not often you can fit 160 people in a front garden!  A happy, relaxed and laid back atmosphere was evident throughout the whole day and once we'd got all the group photographs in the bag, we left everyone to enjoy the sunshine whilst we went to Queen's Park in Castleford for a photo session with the family, Paul driving his bride and children to the park in a Mini convertible that Amanda had hired for the weekend as a surprise for him.  A big thank you to both mums for patiently looking after Samuel and Ruby whilst we photographed Amanda and Paul together.  The park looked beautiful with lots of lavender in bloom and we had a brilliant time with the new Mr and Mrs Darley, taking some romantic photos and fun shots.

We returned to the party where a magician amazed the guests, a caricaturist drew them and Farmer Copley's staff fed them with a delicious hog roast.  Matty, Paul's very talented close friend and best man, made everyone laugh and also brought tears to many an eye with his guitar playing and speech, which he sang and dedicated to the family.  We know that his wife Nicola worked with him for hours on the lyrics and what a lovely and very personal speech it was!

This wasn't the first time we've photographed a wedding in a garden but it was the first time we've photographed a first dance in one.  It was the perfect end to a perfect summer wedding and we are very grateful to Amanda and Paul for deciding that we should be the photographers to capture their big day.

If you are looking for a West Yorkshire wedding photographer, we'd love to hear from you.  If you were a guest at this lovely wedding, please feel free to leave a comment and please Like us on Facebook.

All images remain the copyright of Alex & Janet Durasow.

   

Rogerthorpe Manor Wedding Photographers | Lisa & David's Wedding Photography

As recommended Rogerthorpe Manor wedding photographers, it's always a pleasure to work at this lovely venue and we were delighted when Wayne told his friends, Lisa and Dave about us and our work.  Lisa and Dave came to see us and booked us on the spot which made our day.

The morning of the wedding, we arrived at the couple's house where their son, Jack, was full of energy and running round without a care in the world.  The ladies were under a bit more pressure, having their hair styled and getting ready for the wedding.   

We arrived at Rogerthorpe Manor to meet the boys.  Dave, Wayne and Darren have been close friends for many years and so it was a given that there would be two best men. Wayne had another job as well as that of best man.  He runs Class Laser Clay and set this up as a gift for Dave and Lisa.  If you fancy entertainment with a difference that's great fun and safe for everyone, we can highly recommend it.

As unpredictable as the April weather is, the hailstones which fell as we were waiting for Lisa and her dad to arrive were pretty unexpected and pretty unwelcome too.  Thankfully, they stopped a couple of minutes before our bride's car appeared.  Typically, it stayed dry throughout the civil ceremony in the Lawrence Suite and then decided to throw some light drizzle our way just as we started the group photos. Lisa and Dave took it all in their stride and thanks to the assistance of Wayne and Darren who held umbrellas over each assembled group, whipped them away just before each shot was taken and then put them back again, we got all the group photographs in the can in very little time and without the need to work indoors.  Guys, you were stars!

Lisa and Dave were fantastic to work with and were up for trying anything including some fun photographs with their best men and Lisa's sisters, Sharon and Natalie, who were bridesmaids and luckily, by now, the rain had stopped allowing us to ditch the brollies and use some of the backdrops at Rogerthorpe Manor for photographs of the couple together before the wedding breakfast.  The Lawrence Suite had been beautifully and expertly dressed by Stacey Benson of Chantilly Weddings.  Stacey's a lovely lady, does a brilliant job and her services are highly recommended.

After dinner, the sun came out, it was warm and dry and we captured some reportage photographs as the children (and some adult size kids!) played on the lawn before we borrowed the new Mr and Mrs Bridges for some photographs together and enjoyed our favourite time on a wedding day - creative, romantic, relaxed couple photography time. 

A first dance and exploding balloon was the finale to their big day but we couldn't leave without taking a few evening photographs.  Lisa and Dave, your wedding day was fantastic.  Thank you for asking us to share it with you and for looking after us so well.

Wedding Photographer West Yorkshire - Lisa's Bridal Portraits

            

Sometimes everything comes together to help you get images which you've imagined for quite a long time and often things conspire against you, preventing it from happening and it's usually the weather which is the culprit!  As creative West Yorkshire wedding photographers we were over the moon today when everything fell into place to enable us to get the bridal portraits we, and more importantly Lisa, wanted - our stunning bride, perfect warm weather, a blue sky and the gorgeous yellow rape in full flower, something you only get for a couple of weeks a year.  Lisa is beautiful and a natural when it comes to posing and was quite happy standing in the middle of a rape field in her wedding dress.  This image is one of our favourites.